Baked Bread & Provolone

In Bernalda, a town in Basilicata, there are many ancient bread traditions. The town isn’t far from the durum wheat fields of the Murgia plateau and the famous bread towns Matera and Altamura. One of the town’s classic dishes is ’u pan’ cuott’ (Bernaldese dialect for pane cotto, “cooked bread”). Families would bake stale slices of Bernalda’s enormous 3-kilogram loaves with whatever food scraps they could find, resulting in a savory, delicious bread casserole bound by gooey bits of melted provolone. Use the crustiest durum bread you can find or bake.

SERVES 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb day-old durum wheat bread (I like Matera-style;), torn into bite-size pieces
• 3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 7 ounces provolone cheese, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon peperoni cruschi powder or sweet paprika
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon peperoncino or red pepper flakes
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 475°F with a rack in the center position.
2. Place the bread in a colander, rinse with warm water, and set aside to soften. The bread should be moistened but not sopping wet.
3.  In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, provolone, peperoni cruschi, garlic, oregano, peperoncino, and ¼ cup of the olive oil. Season with salt.
4. When the bread crusts have softened, squeeze out any excess liquid and add the bread to the bowl with the tomato mixture. Stir to combine.
5. Grease a baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, pour in the tomato mixture, and drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil on top. Bake until the top is heavily browned and the provolone has melted, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.